Out of Time
by desertwolf4
Summary: Jack has been suffering at the loss of Ianto Jones, so the Doctor makes a decision to help him.  With help from the Doctor, Jack gets the one thing he has been missing more than anything back, Ianto.  SLASH.  Jack/Ianto, Master/Doctor, Implied Jack/Doctor


**Author's Note:** I wrote this while waiting for my friends to get out of something at Connecticon (which was so amazing). Also, I was exhausted when I wrote this so if it defies the laws of physics I don't really care cause I enjoyed writing it.

Hope you like it!

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_The Doctor could no longer watch his friend suffer at the death of his lover. It pained him more than it should have to watch the immortal be in such a state. So for Jack, the Doctor was going to break the rules, just this once._

Captain Jack Harkness wasn't sure what was worse, watching his beloved coffee boy die in his arms, or breaking his heart in order to save him. Ianto Jones had quit Torchwood two days after jack had shattered his heart, but Jack knew deep down it would be for the best. It had made him sick to do that to Ianto, and he would have given anything to go find and make things right. He couldn't though, what had been done was done and now Jack had to just hope that things would turn out right.

It felt like the events of when the Doctor brought Jack back to the past had happened only yesterday when in reality it had been at least a year. Things would be different, and the panic that fluttered in his chest reminded him of just how nervous he was about the change that could be there. The only things for him to do were put on a smile and take his responsibilities seriously again. He had a team to lead, people that needed him.

He walked into Torchwood and glanced around, putting a forlorn lost puppy look on his face. A familiar face glanced up at him from where she sat, a frown gracing her lips and Jack fought back the dumbfound look that threatened to blow his cover. Tosh stood up, a folder in her arms. "Jack, I am surprised you came in today."

"Is it that big of a surprise?" Jack asked as he once again looked around, his eyes landing on the wall with the many small doors, behind which each lay a body.

"I thought you were due to visit Ianto in the hospital." At Jack's blank stare, she frowned again. "You didn't hear?" Jack shook his head. "He was jumped last night on his way home from his job."

Jack was out the door before Tosh could say another word, making his way to the nearest hospital to check if his Ianto was there.

It took him three tries at three different hospitals before he found the one that Ianto was in. After much questioning by the doctor he was taken to the room Ianto was in and Jack felt his heart sink. From where he was standing, he could see that the damage was bad, and he swore that who ever did this to his Ianto would come face to face with a rabid weevil by the name of Janet.

Ianto's eyes were closed, an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. There were cuts all over his face and jack was sure that Ianto's eye was swollen shut, and one of his arms was encased in a cast. Jack glanced at the doctor before he moved over to Ianto, sitting by his side.

Yes, he was alive, but was this much better than being Dead? He carefully brushed his hand against Ianto's cheek, and then took his hand, holding it gingerly in his own, interlacing their fingers. "I'm here Ianto…It's me, Jack." There was no response, not that he expected one. "I'm sorry babe, for what I did, what I said. If you only knew the reason behind it. God, Ianto I couldn't live without you."

The distinct and familiar sound of the TARDIS caught his attention, but Jack ignored it, Ianto was far more important than whatever the Doctor had to talk to him about. Hell, maybe if he was lucky and the Doctor wasn't here because of him at all and was here for some other reason. His eyes never left Ianto's face, not even when he herd someone else come into the room.

"Oh Jack…" The sound of the Doctor's companion's voice, what was her name…Donna he thought. "I'm so sorry."

"he's alive, that's all I wanted," Jack told her glancing over his shoulder at the Doctor. "He is alive and I am happy about that." Jack stood up, letting his hand slip away from Ianto's as he moved over to the Doctor, looking into his friend's eyes. "Thank you Doctor. You truly have no idea how much this means to me."

The Doctor gave Jack a smile that he could only describe as sorrowful, a look that never played well on his pretty boy face, as the Doctor nodded. "Don't thank me jack, you are my friend." With a quick glance at Donna, the Doctor left the room, his companion soon following him.

The visit had been quick and short, but it was something that Jack was thankful for. He needed time to figure out just what to say to Ianto, how to explain that the reason he broke his heart was to protect him? To Jack it seemed a futile effort after everything that they had been through together. He had even begun to wonder if it would be worth it, trying to explain himself, and the fact that he even thought that scared him.

T was the fact that he even thought something like that was what scared him the most. After all the Doctor had done for him, breaking the rules which Jack knew had been something his friend would have struggled with, it seemed horrible that Jack would even consider not explaining. But Jack was scared that Ianto wouldn't understand his reasons, or that he would not believe him. If that happened, Jack had no idea what he would do.

He went back over to Ianto's bed, glancing out the window of the room before he sat down on the edge of the bed. Carefully, he removed the mask from Ianto's face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you Ianto Jones, I swear that I'll be by your side the instant you wake up," Jack whispered against his lips. "I love you my companion, my friend, my lover." As much as he wanted to lay beside Ianto and hold him, Jack knew he would not be allowed to even as he placed the mask back over his nose and mouth. A sense of helplessness passed over Jack, his eyes lingering on Ianto's face. He stood up, moving to the chair beside the bed, wishing that there was something he could do. But there was nothing he could.

Nothing but to sit and wait.

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The Doctor had let Donna go home for the evening, figuring it best while he tried to sort things out. His mind was still reeling, the look that Jack had given him refused to go away, the image stuck in his mind. His hearts had begun to race, the desire to make the pain melt way from Jack's eyes had been overwhelming, but Jack's heart belonged to another now, and the Doctor had to keep reminding himself of that.

He leaned against the console of the TARDIS, his eyes closed tightly. In the back of his mind, he knew what he had done was stupid, the foolhearted actions compelled by long lost emotions he had once felt for the Captain. Did he regret what he had done? Not in the least. There had been a faint spark in Jack's eyes when the Doctor had told him the plan, and that spark had made it all worth while.

"Well now Doctor, I would have never thought you'd be the type to bend the rules." The sound of that all too familiar voice sent a shiver down his spine and he turned around, coming face to face with the Master. "Wonder what it was that made the dear Doctor break the rules…must have been something important."

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked, trying to keep the nervousness from his voice as the Master stepped closer, their eyes never breaking their gaze.

"or perhaps someone who means something so dear to you. Yes that seems highly likely." The Master was standing in front of him now, so close that the Doctor could feel the warmth radiating from his skin.

The Doctor gulped nervously, almost afraid to ask the question that he so desperately wanted to know the answer to. "What do you want?"

The chuckle that passed over the Master's lips made the Doctor's blood run cold. The Master hooked his fingers around his tie, pulling the Doctor close to him. "Oh my dear Doctor I would have thought that to be obvious. I want you."

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**Reviews are loved, and also do you think I should continue this or just give it up here and now? Please don't nit pick little details like "oh this could never happen" this was written for fun.**

**Yes I made Tosh and Ianto (and Owen he will turn up) be alive and Gwen dead. Why? I dislike Gwen with a firey burning passion with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. **

**So...yes what was there between Jack and the Doctor? Does the Master have an evil plan? And when will dear Ianto wake up? Find out next time!**


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